


When the Snow Falls

by BillieShears



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: F/M, Reunions, Ten Years Later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-14
Updated: 2013-05-14
Packaged: 2017-12-11 19:53:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/802574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BillieShears/pseuds/BillieShears
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You can take the hero out of Jump, but you can't take Jump City out of the hero. (Ten years later, Kid Flash and Jinx reunite.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	When the Snow Falls

Years after the Titans have disbanded, long after they’d passed the torch and trained new recruits and had finally settled into lives of partial anonymity, Wally and Jinx bumped into each other. Occasional run-ins were not only inevitable, but expected – you can take the hero of Jump, but you can’t take Jump City out of the hero. None of them lived there anymore, but they all came back on their own time every year. It was only natural that visits overlapped sometimes.

Still, it rarely happened to Jinx. She’d always been good at flying under the radar, and had only ever bumped into someone once before – three years ago, when she’d had the bad luck of choosing the same weekend to go as the original Titans. It wasn’t that she minded seeing them – a secret truth was that she loved when the holidays rolled around, because it meant there’d be a big party and they’d all get together again. But there was something about being in Jump that made her long for privacy. She’d had a rocky relationship with that city. It wasn’t something she really felt like sharing.

When she’d arrived at Titans Tower (vacant, but kept as a monument on that little island) and seen the bright red of Wally’s hair, she’d tried to silently retreat and return later instead. But as ever, he was too quick for her.

“Jinx!” He’d greeted, wide eyed and excited. She looked different – a loose-fitting blue t-shirt and worn down jeans, yellow converse all-stars adorning her feet. She’d attempted to dye her hair black, but the pink roots growing in were obvious – and there was no hiding those pink eyes and pale, pale skin.

He, however, couldn’t have looked more the same if he’d tried – that bright red hair was unmistakable. Freckles still adorned his face. He may not have been wearing his uniform, but the red jacket with yellow decals was certainly homage to it.

“Eh,” She shrugged, as he threw his arms around her in a bear-hug, “don’t really go by that so much anymore.”

“How’ve you been?” He asked enthusiastically, “Man, I never see you out here. What a trip! Hey, you wanna grab a coffee?”

She did not want to grab a coffee. She didn’t particularly want to see Wally, either.

“Well,” She started.

“I’m buying,” He added. Jinx considered. She only ever really saw him for holidays, and even then, she went through painstaking efforts to avoid him. But being in Jump made her nostalgic. This was where she _met_ him. This was where they’d worked together and lived together and slept together. She’d fallen in love with him in this city. They’d also broken each other’s hearts in this city, but somehow it didn’t feel important right now. She sighed, and surrendered a smile.

“Okay.”

X

Coffee turned into lunch. Lunch turned into a walk in the park. A walk turned into dinner. Dinner ended.

“Let me walk you back to your hotel,” Wally offered.

“I don’t have a hotel,” She admitted, “I wasn’t planning on staying.”

“Not staying!” Wally was appalled. “Well, it’s too late to go home now. Wanna crash at my hotel?” She eyed him suspiciously, and he held up his hands, a show of innocence: “No funny business, I swear! I’ll sleep on the floor.” Jinx thought for a moment, then an old familiar smirk graced her lips.

“I have a better idea.”

X

First, they stopped at the liquor store and stocked up on cheap beer. Then they went to the first place they’d ever lived, a townhouse in the heart of Jump, given to them after she’d been appointed honorary Titan. She and Wally had been what Robin called “Freelance Titans”, meaning they went wherever they were most needed. They didn’t get a Tower like the others did, and they never spent more than a week at a time at their home in Jump, but they never minded. Neither of them had really been the type to settle down into one place.

No place any of the Titans had ever lived was sold – instead, they were all treated as museums or monuments, a part of the city’s history, something covered on walking tours of Jump. Next to the front door there was a small plaque that read “ _Formerly Home to Honorary Titans Kid Flash and Jinx”_.

“Ugh,” She mumbled, disgusted. She sent a tiny wave of pink at the plaque, and it cracked in two and fell to the ground.

“You never were one for hero worship,” Wally recalled, side-stepping the plaque and following her inside.

“I was never one for _attention_ ,” She corrected. She made her way through the darkness to the kitchen, still eerily familiar with this relic from her past. She rummaged through drawers until she found what she was looking for: two industrial-sized flashlights. She clicked one on, and tossed the other to Wally. They made their way into the living room, set up the flashlights on either side of them, and cracked open a beer.

X

One beer became two beers. Two beers became six. Ten o’clock became midnight. They’d migrated from the floor to the couch, the dim glow of the forgotten flashlights barely lighting their faces.

“You know, for a while there, I thought you were avoiding me,” He admitted, once the cans were empty and scattered around the floor. Jinx snorted ungracefully.

“I was.” Wally looked hurt.

“Why?”

“You made me uncomfortable,” She confessed, her voice barely a mumble.

“Jeeze, Jinx, you used to be _so_ comfortable around me,” He rubbed the back of his head, his voice a little sadder than she was used to, “you used to _only_ be comfortable around me.” She rolled her eyes, shifting her body away from his. Suddenly, she felt self-conscious.

“Yeah, well, we were fucking at the time.”

“Jinx…”

“I said that’s not my name anymore, okay?” She snapped, eyes burning. The tears that threatened to spill made her grateful for the darkness. Wally was silent, refusing to meet her gaze. She hesitated, eyeing him warily. “I’m sorry.”

“We were more than that,” He said. Jinx nodded.

“We were.”

“A lot more.” She nodded again.

“I know we were.” Silence. Jinx picked at her belt loop uncomfortably. Wally stared at his hands. “Wally, look, I really didn’t mean that. Please don’t be upset with me. We’ve been having such a great time. And I don’t know if it’s the beer or being in this place or just you, but for the first time in years, I _wasn’t_ uncomfortable.”

Wally lifted his gaze to meet hers. It was hard for Jinx to be this honest with anyone – he knew that. It was hard for Jinx to be honest with herself most of the time. He smiled.

“Let’s look around.”

X

“I can’t believe nothing’s changed,” Jinx mumbled, running her hand along the wall as she walked. “Not one single thing since the day we left. The mirror above the sink is still crooked.”

“It’s nice,” He said.

“It’s creepy,” She corrected, wrinkling her nose, “I feel like a ghost.”

“We were their heroes,” He reminded her. She turned away, tucked a piece of dyed-black hair behind her ear.

“I wasn’t anybody’s hero.”

X

They stood in the doorway of the bedroom for several awkward minutes before breaking down and going inside.

“This feels just as weird as it did the first day,” Wally joked, as Jinx took a tentative seat on the far end of the bed. “Man, remember that?”

“I just think it was kind of a dumb oversight,” Jinx waved around the room for emphasis, “why would they ever pick a place with only _one_ bedroom?”

“Confession time?” Wally asked innocently, looking like a child hiding a secret.

“Oh, Christ,” Jinx rolled her eyes, “what did you do?”

“When Raven was looking at places for us, I told her not to worry about finding a place with two bedrooms.” He laughed hesitantly. Jinx raised an eyebrow and waited for him to explain himself. “I mean, we were already a thing by then anyway, and I figured… why two bedrooms if we were only gonna really use one? That’s a waste of a bedroom!”

She opened her mouth to yell at him. She wanted to be angry at him. But somehow, she wasn’t able to fight. It was years ago. Nothing she said now could change the past. Besides – when they were younger, she’d been secretly grateful for it, despite all her complaints. So instead, she laughed. Wally looked relieved.

“Thought you’d be angry.”

“If I wasn’t six beers deep, I would be.”

“So,” He nudged her with his elbow, “What _do_ people call you these days?”

“Jeane,” She said sheepishly, blush creeping onto her cheeks, “it’s not my birth name – I mean, I don’t know my birth name – but it… fits, I guess. Different enough, but still the same.”

“I like it.”

“Thanks.”

“I like Jinx better, though.”

“Yeah, well,” Her blush deepened, “so do I. But ‘Jinx’ doesn’t really go with the whole anonymity thing we’re trying to do here. Hard to disappear into obscurity with a name like ‘Jinx’.”

“Fair point,” Wally nodded sagely.

“God, I feel like I’m seventeen again,” She mumbled, “the house, the bedroom – you, obviously.”

“We could really make it feel like we’re seventeen,” Wally scooted closer, “if you wanted.” 

“…Are you seeing anybody right now?” Jinx eyed him warily. He held up his hands and shook his head. “You swear?”

“I solemnly swear,” He confirmed. “You?” 

“Oh please,” She scoffed. He scooted closer. 

“I’m glad you’re not ignoring me anymore,” His voice was softer than she remembered. “I really missed you, Jinx.” 

“I missed you too,” She whispered. And she kissed him.

X 

When Jinx woke up, she half expected to find Wally gone. When Wally woke up, he fully expected to find Jinx gone. They were both pleasantly surprised to discover they were wrong. 

“I should go,” Jinx said half-heartedly. 

“Me too,” Wally reluctantly agreed. He paused. “Want to grab some breakfast first?” Jinx smiled gratefully. 

“Sure.” 

X 

Breakfast turned into a second visit to the tower. Another visit to the tower turned into swimming in the bay. Swimming in the bay turned into napping in the sand. They woke up just after noon. 

“I should really go,” Said Jinx, but she made no move to leave. 

“Me too,” Wally agreed, reaching over to brush some sand off her shoulder, “want to grab some lunch first?” She smiled, nodded. Yanked her hair into a ponytail. 

“Sure.” 

X 

Lunch turned into a movie. A movie turned into coffee. Coffee turned into dinner. 

“I don’t really want to go,” Jinx said. Wally’s smile was big enough for the two of them. 

“So we’ll stay another night, then.” 

X 

The next morning, they weren’t surprised to see they weren’t alone. Wordlessly, they woke up and got dressed. They went to the kitchen, where Jinx was surprised to see two cups of coffee and a dozen donuts. 

“Did you do this when I was changing?” 

“Fastest man alive,” He shrugged. They sat down and dug in. 

“So where are you living these days?” Jinx asked, ripping open a sugar packet and adding it to her coffee. 

“I lived in Circuit City for a while, but I never really stay anyplace too long,” He reached for a Boston Cream donut. “What about you?” 

“I live in Massachusetts now,” She reached into the box and carefully selected a glaze donut. “I was kinda sick of California. Wanted to experience some real seasons, you know? The snow’s pretty.” 

“You know something? I’ve never been to Massachusetts. Never even been to New England, actually.” He took a big gulp of coffee. 

“Huh,” was all Jinx offered. She took a tentative sip of her coffee, frowned, and added a little more cream. “I have to go home today.” 

“Me too,” Wally bobbed his head, “you wanna go back to the tower first?” 

“ _Wally_.” She looked him straight in the eyes, “Come on.” 

“What?” He demanded. “What’s so wrong about wanting to stay? This city was good to us. It was the closest thing to _home_ either of us has ever known.” 

“We’re just playing house right now,” She protested, “this isn’t a life, Wally, this apartment doesn’t even have electricity or running water! We’re literally living in a _monument_. This whole place is frozen in time. It’s like a time warp. We walk back in here and we’re sixteen, seventeen again! Jesus, Wally, we’re almost _thirty_. We can’t just drop everything and come back to Jump and pretend we’re teenagers and relive our ‘glory days’.” 

“Okay,” He said quietly. 

“And you know something else? I hate it here, Wally. I hate it here. This city is not where I want to spend my life. I like to come back, once a year, and reflect by myself. And I saw you this time, and don’t get me wrong, that was nice. I mean God, you were the only part of this city I ever really _cared_ about. But I can’t stay here,” She was emphatic; “I don’t _want_ to stay here.” 

“Okay,” he repeated. “I get it, Jinx, okay? I’m sorry. I just thought it would be nice. Being here with you has been the happiest I’ve been in a long time. It gets really lonely travelling everywhere by yourself. I really missed having someone to travel the country with. I really missed _you_. And if we’re being totally honest here – I’ve been coming to the tower every day, all month, hoping to see you because Raven mentioned in passing that you came around this time a couple years ago.” 

“Why didn’t you just _call_ me?” She demanded. “Raven has my number. Starfire has my number. Heck, even _Cyborg_ has my number.”

“I was nervous!” He cried, “Jesus, Jinx, we really hurt each other. I didn’t know how it was gonna be.” 

“Well that’s fucking sick,” Jinx snapped, “and twisted, and totally fucked up, and don’t ever do that again, okay? You wanna talk to me, you wanna see me, then you get my fucking number and you call like a normal person.” 

“I’m sorry,” He said quietly, “I didn’t know what else to do. But – haven’t you been happy, these last few days? Hasn’t it been nice? I know you, Jinx. Come on.” He looked to her, a desperate plea. Her gaze was cool. 

“We can’t just stay here.” She rose from her chair, grabbed her bag off the couch and threw it over her shoulder, heading for the door. She paused and glanced over her shoulder at Wally, staring at his plate. She raised an eyebrow. “ _Hello?_ Are you coming or not?” 

“With you?” He asked, confused, “To Massachusetts?” She rolled her eyes. 

“I said _we,_ didn’t I?” 

He was by her side in seconds.

 


End file.
